Saturday morning January 23

Preparation

Opening response

Lord, open our lipsand our mouth will proclaim your praise.Your light springs up for the righteousand all the peoples have seen your glory.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,king of the nations,to you be praise and glory forever.From the rising of the sun to its settingyour name is proclaimed in all the world.As the Sun of Righteousness dawns in our heartsanoint our lips with the seal of your Spiritthat we may witness to your gospeland sing your praise in all the earth.Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.Blessed be God forever.

Hymn

Abba, Father, Hear Thy Child

Charles Wesley

Abba, Father, hear thy child,Late in Jesus reconciled;Hear, and all the graces shower,All the joy, and peace, and power;All my Savior asks above,All the life and heaven of love.

Lord, I will not let thee goTill the blessing thou bestow:Hear my Advocate divine;Lo! To his my suit I join;Joined to his, it cannot fail;Bless me; for I will prevail.

Heavenly Father, Life divine,Change my nature into thine;Move, and spread throughout my soul,Actuate, and fill the whole:Be it I no longer nowLiving in the flesh, but thou.

Holy Ghost, no more delay;Come, and in thy temple stay:Now thine inward witness bear,Strong, and permanent, and clear:Spring of life, thyself impart;Rise eternal in my heart.

Confession of sin

Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

Almighty God,patient and of great goodness:I confess to you,I confess with my whole heartmy neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments,my wrong doing, thinking, and speaking;the hurts I have done to others,and the good I have left undone.O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you;and raise me to newness of life;through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

May the God of love and powerforgive us and free us from our sins,heal and strengthen us by his Spirit,and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.Amen.

The Word of God

Psalm 122

Refrain:How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord of heavenly forces!

I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let’s go to the Lord’s house!”Now our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem!Jerusalem is built like a city joined together in unity.That is where the tribes go up— the Lord’s tribes!It is the law for Israel to give thanks there to the Lord’s name, because the thrones of justice are there— the thrones of the house of David!Pray that Jerusalem has peace: “Let those who love you have rest. Let there be peace on your walls; let there be rest on your fortifications.”For the sake of my family and friends, I say, “Peace be with you, Jerusalem.”For the sake of the Lord our God’s house I will pray for your good.

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord of heavenly forces!

Psalm prayer

God of our pilgrimage,bring us with joy to the eternal cityfounded on the rock,and give to our earthly citiesthe peace that comes from above;through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 128

Refrain:How great is your goodness, O Lord.

Everyone who honors the Lord, who walks in God’s ways, is truly happy!You will definitely enjoy what you’ve worked hard for— you’ll be happy; and things will go well for you.In your house, your wife will be like a vine full of fruit. All around your table, your children will be like olive trees, freshly planted.That’s how it goes for anyone who honors the Lord: they will be blessed!May the Lord bless you from Zion. May you experience Jerusalem’s goodness your whole life long. And may you see your grandchildren.Peace be on Israel!

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:How great is your goodness, O Lord.

Psalm prayer

O Christ, our true vine,may we your branchesbe ever fruitful in your serviceand share your love and peace with all your children,in the power of the Spirit and to the glory of the Father.

Psalm 150

Refrain: Let every living thing praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord!Praise God in his sanctuary! Praise God in his fortress, the sky!Praise God in his mighty acts! Praise God as suits his incredible greatness!Praise God with the blast of the ram’s horn! Praise God with lute and lyre!Praise God with drum and dance! Praise God with strings and pipe!Praise God with loud cymbals! Praise God with clashing cymbals!Let every living thing praise the Lord!Praise the Lord!

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain: Let every living thing praise the Lord!

Psalm prayer

God of life and love,whose Son was victorious over sin and death,make us alive with his life,that the whole world may resound with your praise;through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament readingGenesis 11:1-9

All people on the earth had one language and the same words. When they traveled east, they found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them hard.” They used bricks for stones and asphalt for mortar. They said, “Come, let’s build for ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky, and let’s make a name for ourselves so that we won’t be dispersed over all the earth.”

Then the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the humans built. And the Lord said, “There is now one people and they all have one language. This is what they have begun to do, and now all that they plan to do will be possible for them. Come, let’s go down and mix up their language there so they won’t understand each other’s language.” Then the Lord dispersed them from there over all of the earth, and they stopped building the city. Therefore, it is named Babel, because there the Lord mixed up the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord dispersed them over all the earth.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament readingMatthew 25:31-46

“Now when the Human One comes in his majesty and all his angels are with him, he will sit on his majestic throne. All the nations will be gathered in front of him. He will separate them from each other, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right side. But the goats he will put on his left.

“Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who will receive good things from my Father. Inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world began. I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you gave me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.’

“Then those who are righteous will reply to him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? When did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or naked and give you clothes to wear? When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

“Then the king will reply to them, ‘I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Get away from me, you who will receive terrible things. Go into the unending fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels. I was hungry and you didn’t give me food to eat. I was thirsty and you didn’t give me anything to drink. I was a stranger and you didn’t welcome me. I was naked and you didn’t give me clothes to wear. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

“Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and didn’t do anything to help you?’ Then he will answer, ‘I assure you that when you haven’t done it for one of the least of these, you haven’t done it for me.’ And they will go away into eternal punishment. But the righteous ones will go into eternal life.”

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticleThe Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Refrain: This is the Christ, the Chosen of God, the one who will bring healing to the nations.

Bless the Lord God of Israelbecause he has come to help and has delivered his people.He has raised up a mighty savior for us in his servant David’s house,just as he said through the mouths of his holy prophets long ago.He has brought salvation from our enemiesand from the power of all those who hate us.He has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,and remembered his holy covenant,the solemn pledge he made to our ancestor Abraham.He has granted that we would be rescuedfrom the power of our enemiesso that we could serve him without fear,in holiness and righteousness in God’s eyes,for as long as we live.You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.You will tell his people how to be savedthrough the forgiveness of their sins.Because of our God’s deep compassion,the dawn from heaven will break upon us,to give light to those who are sitting in darknessand in the shadow of death,to guide us on the path of peace.”

Luke 1:68-79

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain: This is the Christ, the Chosen of God, the one who will bring healing to the nations.

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,born of the Virgin Mary,suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, died, and was buried;he descended to the dead.On the third day he rose again;he ascended into heaven,is seated at the right hand of the Father,and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,the holy catholic church,the communion of saints,the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body,and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers

Intercession and thanksgiving

Prayers are offeredfor the day and its tasksfor the world and its needsfor the Church and her life

Response

Loving God, we look to you.Receive our prayer.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty God,in Christ you make all things new:transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace,and in the renewal of our livesmake known your heavenly glory;through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Believing the promises of God,as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name,your kingdom come,your will be done,on earth as in heaven.Give us today our daily bread.Forgive us our sinsas we forgive those who sin against us.Lead us not into temptationbut deliver us from evil.For the kingdom, the power,and the glory are yoursnow and forever.Amen.

Conclusion

May Christ, who sends us to the nations,give us the power of his Spirit.Amen.